


Another Strange Visit

by leonanette



Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Genre: Acrimonious Marriage, The real reason Delilah was kicked out of Dunwall Tower
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-29
Updated: 2017-07-29
Packaged: 2018-12-08 11:39:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11645787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leonanette/pseuds/leonanette
Summary: Emily listens to Delilah's story but she's not going to take it quietly. Through her argument with Delilah, she learns that Delilah was thrown out of Dunwall Tower for much more than just a broken ornament...





	Another Strange Visit

**Author's Note:**

> I know I'm not the only one that was a little disappointed by Delilah's backstory and with Emily just taking her word for it without at least trying to defend her mother's actions.

_“But, I want to come to court like Jessamine.”_

_“I told you, dear, when you’re older. Perhaps, next year.”_

_“You said that last year! Jessamine’s younger than me and she’s at court every day.”_

_“Jessamine is – well, it’s complicated. You’ll understand someday.”_

_“What did I do? I’ll be good, I swear.”_

_“Next year, I promise.”_

The vision faded in blue flames and a bridge to the next platform emerged. However, Emily did not follow the path at once. She looked around for Delilah but, seeing nothing, she settled for speaking to the Void in general.

“You do know Euhorn Kaldwin was never going to keep that promise, don’t you? No one would ever allow the daughter of a kitchen maid at court.”

“Of course, I know that now.” Delilah’s disembodied voice retorted, “But, I was a child and my mother had taught me that a promise was a promise. How was I to know then how much pleasure men took in toying with a young girl’s hopes?”

“I’m not saying it was right.”

Delilah deigned not to answer and the bridge remained in place so Emily had no choice but to go on to the next vision.

*

_“I didn’t break it!”_

_“Would you like to tell me who did?”_

_“We were just playing.”_

_“Young Lady Jessamine? What’s your account of the matter?”_

_“It was her! Delilah’s lying. She broke it.”_

The vision of her mother as a child faded but not the stab in Emily’s heart. She could not let her mother go undefended.

“My mother was just a child. She only wanted to avoid trouble. You would have done in the same in that position.”

“True,” Delilah replied without reappearing again, “but who would have believed me? Against the word of a princess, the word of a servant is worth less than _nothing_!”

Emily could not reply but stalked to the next island.

*

“ _My mother is sick. She needs help._ ”

“ _Your mother kicked off while you were out begging. She’s another bag of bones now, girl.”_

_“What? No!”_

_“Her sentence is served and she’ll be tossed out with the others. You can’t stay here anymore._ ”

The last vision faded and a white portal appeared before her but Emily didn’t move an inch. She whirled around and faced the Void.

“All this over a broken ornament and an empty promise? I’m sorry you suffered. Truly, I am. But your revenge isn’t worth all the chaos you’ve caused.”

This time, Delilah reappeared in a flash of flame and shadow, her arms folded and a scornful look on her face, “You’re hardly one to talk. Are you about to tell me that all that silver in Dunwall Tower is worth all those dead Karnacan miners?”

Not even the piercing cold of the Void could stop Emily’s face burning. She knew it wasn’t a good idea to goad Delilah, even at that moment, but she could not leave the Void without trying to wipe that smirk off her face.

“I hope you’re not relying on your father’s promise to secure your legitimacy. Anyone would tell you that bastard daughters of servants can’t be Empresses.”

“And, where does that logic leave you?” Delilah’s smirk grew wider, “The bastard daughter of a Serkonan guttersnipe?”

“My mother and father were married when I was born. They kept it secret because no one would approve - ”

Delilah cut her off, “Ha! That marriage certificate was forged by your father just before your coronation to stop anyone casting doubts on your legitimacy. It hardly matters now, of course. If you had just stayed in the Tower like a good girl, you’d know by now that the record no longer exists.”

An isolated rational pocket of Emily’s mind ordered her not to rise but her anger was too hot to leave without one last shot, “Even if my parents weren’t married, they at least loved each other. I don’t know about relations between Emperors and maids personally but I know the maids generally don’t get a choice in the matter.”

She got the brief pleasure of seeing Delilah’s smirk vanish and a dull flush creep up her wasted cheeks. Then, her face hardened, “And, what makes you think Jessamine’s parents was any different? Nobility can’t choose who they wed. Not even the daughter of a Tyvian High Judge can say no to an Emperor, whether it’s at the alter or the bedchamber. I’m living proof of what their marriage truly was.” Delilah spoke over Emily, “Emperor Euhorn Kaldwin preferred the company of obedient maids over his headstrong wife. He only got her with child to stop her leaving him and causing a scandal he could ill-afford. They thought Jessamine’s birth would solve their difficulties but they were very mistaken.”

She went on with the air of someone who’d been dying to let it all out for years, “My mother told me just before she died what Euhorn’s promise to me really meant. He used me as a threat to his wife and daughter. If they didn’t give him his way in everything, he’d threaten to disinherit Jessamine and legitimise me as his heir. So, Empress Beatrix got her revenge the only way she could: by never losing an opportunity to remind me for my place or,” Her eyes flashed with rage, “to get rid of me. She and the Spymaster knew Jessamine had broken the ornament but they didn’t care. Jessamine had handed them the opportunity to throw out Euhorn’s pawn on a silver plate! She probably did it willingly too, bribed by sweeties and pretty dresses.”

Delilah paused for breath, glowering at Emily with all the accumulated rage towards every member of the Kaldwin family. Before Emily could think of the best response, she composed herself and sneered, “What makes you so sure your father and mother were in love in the first place? Your father may have been her Royal Protector but he was still a servant for all that and, as you said a moment ago, servants don’t get a choice in these matters.”

Emily’s head felt like it was going to explode. Yet, she managed to restrain herself from shouting her last strike at Delilah, “I know my father loved my mother. He still loves her, even fifteen years after her death. I don’t think you can say the same for your parents, can you?”

_SMACK!_

Delilah closed the distance between them in a heartbeat and the force of her blow nearly knocked Emily off the platform. She tried to get back onto steady footing but wasn’t quick enough. Delilah’s hands, as cold as the Void and firm as the stone beneath them, clamped around her neck.

“Your mother and grandmother loved nothing better than demeaning me too. You’ll end up as they did soon enough, whether by the Duke’s forces or mine! Now, you misbegotten unmanageable whelp, get out of my sight!” She flung Emily backwards into the white portal and the Void was gone. Instead, the ceiling of her cabin came into view and a throbbing pain bloomed where her head had hit the floor.

 _Well_ , Emily thought as she picked herself up and rearranged the hair, _I suppose that went a little better that my last meeting with Delilah._

She felt a tug at her left hand and the Heart materialised by itself. With it, pale as an opal, the spirit of her mother appeared. Emily flushed. For a moment, she thought she was going to a reprimand for her belligerence.

_“I am with you, even in the Void. If only I could do more. If only I had done more. My mother told me that, if I blamed Delilah for something very bad, she would take me on a tour of the Isles. It wasn’t until much later that I realised what a terrible thing I had done. I am to blame for Delilah’s bitterness.”_

“It wasn’t your fault.” Emily asserted, “You didn’t ask to be a pawn in your parents’ war.” On another thought, she added, “No more than Delilah did. Besides, Delilah chose to hold onto her grudge. She could have let it go and made the best of what she had without venting her misery on everyone else but here we are.”

_“Our decisions have weight. I feel my time drawing to an end. Soon.”_

Bit by bit, she vanished away, as did the Heart from Emily’s hand. In front of her was her desk, her travel log open. She slumped into her seat and began to write:

_‘Things to do when I’m back in Dunwall:_

_1 - Make sure the workers of the Isles are well-cared for, no matter what the cost._

_2 – Listen to servants more often and believe them more often._

_3 – Marry Wyman immediately.’_

She felt she fully understood why her mother had never married a noble, not even for appearances, to legitimise Emily or for power. Her mother had seen what marrying for political reasons did and learned that the accompanying personal strife would far outweigh any political advantage. She also knew that making her marriage to Corvo public would cause uproar in the nobility. So, she had compromised brilliantly, following her heart and navigating her way around scandal with distinction.

Emily vowed to follow her example.

**Author's Note:**

> I think the writers of Dishonored 2 must have either been only children or were too squeamish about making Jessamine look bad. Either way, I believe that Jessamine reacted just as every other kid would in that situation.
> 
> Since I felt this reason was too poor to justify Delilah's actions, I also decided to add an acrimonious relationship between Euhorn Kaldwin and Beatrix Kaldwin. It's not unreasonable to think that it was a marriage arranged to unify the Isles during the Morley Insurrection. In addition, Euhorn needed a well-born, well-connected wife to strengthen his claim to the throne so it's quite realistic to think that it was a marriage of convenience that was a better idea on paper than it was in practise. The very fact that Delilah exists in the first place and was born before Jessamine on top of that suggests it wasn't a happy union.
> 
> Not to mention, it's well-known how damaging a toxic marriage can be to their children and even their children's children, long after they're gone.


End file.
